Thyme likes it hot so I am guessing that your first plant may have died because you left it outside in April and it was a big shock for it, having been raised in a greenhouse.

I don't know what to say about the second Lemon Thyme, but if you buy any more, take a cutting and try to root it in water as a backup. (Thyme always roots very easily. Perhaps you could even grab a cutting off your plant now :))

Not sure about thyme requiring heat :-) It's a pretty darn hardy subshrub - zone 4 rated - so as long as it was acclimated to outdoors before planting (provided it was grown in a greenhouse), it should have been perfectly happy weathering April temps. Very fast drainage is more important than its cold tolerance. Any potting soil that is the slightest bit moisture retentive will not be to its liking. If growing in a container, cacti and succulent soil works great. And also full sun and no fertilization.

I have a patch of golden thyme growing in a planting bed that gets NO attention from me at all - very lean soil, no supplemental irrigation, never fertilized - and it is thriving. Also not in full sun......nothing in my tree shrouded garden is :-)

Thank you so much everyone! Thank you.

It must be the wetness.

I had wanted to add, the soil the lemon thyme came in is very light and very fluffy but all organic substance. No sand/perlite etc at all. The soil is nothing but moisture retentive and is taking eons to dry out. Thats probably why the thyme plant is dying. April was wet where I am and probably the rain killed the plant in such a soil. Whereas the German thyme was at a very hot dry time. Why, oh why would a nursery put thyme in such a soil???

I did order more lemon thyme but this time around as soon as the plants arrive I will plant them into a super fast draining soil.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)8: I also have a garden that gets a lot of shade from my beloved trees. Wherever there is some sun, never full sun, I grow roses and some sun loving perennials and then some summer vegetables. Though my soil is well draining it is rich in organic matter and very fertile. I dont think herbs such as thyme, oregano, lavender will do well at all in the ground for me. Thats why I am trying to grow in pots in a hot 'sunny' area, getting probably 4-5 hours of sun. I am surprised, so surprised, how good the flavor of the thyme is even with so little sun. What I am anxious about and want to get right is the soil. I took a reasonably good, ie well draining, potting mix and mixed it with at least half, probably two thirds, coarse sand. (one volume potting mix to two volumes sand.) Water just zips through. I hope this is adequate? What confuses me is watching some YT videos. People are growing thyme next to some other herbs in the ground and soil does not look particularly gravel-y or sandy, maybe even dark and rich. And pots look like regular potting mix. How lean is lean? Is adding sand the right way to go?

Your rooting a few sprigs is the best idea and I just started some.

@Labradors, funny you mentioned lemon basil! I went on a herb spree this season. I am growing three types of lemon basil and also lime basil. The regular so called lemon basil, Mrs. Burns lemon basil and Sweet Dani lemon basil. I gently rub my two palms through the leaves of each type and then smell them. Geeez it really does smell of lemon and each a little different. I still dont know which I like best. The straight lemon basil does seem to want to flower pretty quickly. And I s---- the lime basil does smell like lime and clearly distinct from lemon. There are yet a few other types I am growing as well.

If I plant thyme plants now will they root well through fall and overwinter for me (in pots)?

Thank you so much again.

@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9): I did as you described and made the soil for my thyme plants super draining by mixing in several more volumes of coarse sand. So much so that when I water the water seems to come out the bottom immediately like there is nothing there. Nevertheless the thyme plants look like they are happy and thriving. I read somewhere the more free draining the soil the better the flavor of the thyme. I think that's true.

I watched a number of YT videos of people growing the herbs thyme, lavender, rosemary and the like. But! most of these people seem to be planting straight into moisture retentive garden soil or potting mix. Below is a video by a woman who owns and runs a specialty herb nursery in California. I have watched all her videos: this person knows of what she speakes. Here she is planting herbs thyme, oregano and other similar herbs in a raised bed and discusses the creation and maintenance of a raised bed for this purpose. Here I am confused and scratching my head. The soil she uses and advocates is rich and fluffy and replete with nutrients. It looks like it is well draining for sure but also will hold moisture. The number are time stamps where she is talking about the soil and planting thyme and such herbs. If you only watch a little bit watch the first segment 3.20----->6.45 where she goes over the soil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jCOp2263yI&t=1217s

3.20----> 6.45

13 ----> 13. 5

19.2 -----> 19.5

23.29 ----> 28,10

34 40 -----> 37.45

How is this even possible? I know she wont say things that could cause failures among her customers. Does this work because this is in California? does this work because the soil is in a raised bed? Then what about all the fertilizer in the soil? How does thyme and lavender handle so much fertility? @gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) if I may ask, could you opine on this choice of soil in this case?

Here is another video doing quite the opposite. She is potting a lavender and uses soil amendments that I heard of for the first time: large pieces of pumice and clay pellets for super drainage and mostly avoids compost. 5 -----> 6 the amendments and soil mix is shown. Is this much drainage necessary? Or is this ideal?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW2-SJ5yZgs&t=513s

I am asking all these questions because I want to make a raised bed for herbs thyme, lavender, oregano, sage, rosemary and winter savory. I really am wondering what I should do for soil in such a raise bed ?

Thanks!

Sorry for the long delay in answering your question. I should think that, by now, the roots should be big enough to pot up. Depending on where you live, I should think the thyme would be able to overwinter in the ground, assuming that it has had a chance to get established. For me in the north, leaving anything in pots wouldn't work because the roots would freeze over the winter, but that wouldn't be a problem in the south.